Will Of A Flower
by Moon Witch '96
Summary: Drabble Series. Time-travel and de-aging into a four year old wasn't on any bucket lists Sakura had made, but of course she just has to have a bad day. Now she had deal with the fact that she's horrible at keeping things as they are, and that the future, or the present she knew, is going to be gone by the time she's back. Opps. AU. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Of course turning four again wasn't really what nineteen year old Sakura Hanuro had planned to do on a fairly routine b-ranked mission. Hell, she hadn't even conceived the thought, interesting as it was medically to think about... Yet here she was, scrambling out of her now too large boots as the man with the very _interesting_Kekkei genkairushed forward, strange kunai out and ready to do what he must have done a thousand times before.

She also hadn't expected the man to stab her with a surprisingly gentle force in the heart(it had still hurt, the thing had gone straight through her chest, but it had been a quick and soft blow as far as chest stabs go, and she would know). She hadn't expected sad eyes either, or the faint tug at the center of her heart as he had made the thing go hilt deep. Three prongs, even as sharp as they were, hurt like hell and she could feel her sternum crumpling, her lung collapsing, her heart stuttering and that was not _pleasant_.

"I am so sorry, but my mission must be done.."he had said, and she had wanted to say something along the lines of fuck you, but instead, as the day seemed intent on being all around the worst day of her life since the days of the Fourth Ninja War, she found herself falling, a light so bright that it gave her after-images coming from the seal-etched kunai.

When she blinked, the ninja was gone from the branch, and surprisingly, so were her boots. She didn't know why that was important, but as she crashed through the branches below her, and heard a startled shoot, it seemed to be. Someone caught her, arms firm and warm Through hazy vision, she could see bright blue eyes. Ah. That was good. That was really good, she knew those blue eyes.

"Naruto... You're... Late."she slurred, and as the startled blue eyes looked down at her, she could only think that the knucklehead she knew so well was going to do the impossible and set things right.


	2. Chapter 2

Minato Namikaze was a war harden ninja. He had seen death on genocidal scales, he had caused death on genocidal scales, seen amazing and terrifying things in his life, and as far he was concern nothing could really surprise him... Or at least, that was what he thought until a pink haired child crashed down from the trees above him. He had reacted on instinct, leaping up and ignoring his genin's shouting out in warning or alarm, and caught the small form before it went through too many branches. He was sure as hell surprised when he had caught sight of the hilt deep three prong kunai protruding from the girl's small chest, and hazy green eyes looking at him in both relief and slight humor.

"Naruto... You're... Late."said the girl, slurring but obvious humor for whoever this Naruto (great name)was. She promptly passed out, and he turned to his team, and was not surprised to see them so frozen up.

"Rin."he called out and the young medic blinked before she leapt into action, making him put down the girl with a polite nod, her hands glowing already as she set to work on the girl's chest. He cataloged several scraps and bruises on the girl's skin, as well as a nasty cut on her calf, before he turned to the boys.

"Kakashi, search the area, Obito, you're going to half to play nurse."he said firmly, and he watched as Kakashi gave a clipped nod, his dark gray eyes flickering to the girl for a second, narrowed in suspicion, before he turned around and disappeared. Obito looked aghast and plain sickened by the sight of the girl, but quickly went started boiling water at Rin's request.

Minato jumped, high, into the trees, from the direction the girl had come from, and was fairly confused as he found nothing. Not a single clue to tell him where on earth this girl had come from. It was as if she had appeared out of nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

Kakashi Hatake was not generally a trusting person. It was a given of course, he was a ninja, and a damn good one at that, even at seven he understood that something was _wrong_ about the young girl his Sensei had decided to bring back to Konoha. She was injured, and as field medic, he understood that Rin could only do so much, and that the girl needed the medical facilities at the hospital. Even if they had found the still unconscious girl on the outskirts of neutral territory that blended with friendly territory, he found something wrong about the whole thing, and part of him thought they should have left the girl to bleed out.

But he wasn't as cold to say that he didn't feel bad for her, even if she did turn out to be a spy. She had been naked, and covered from head to toe in scarps and bruises, and in the two days it had taken them to bring her back to the village the girl had done nothing but give out small whimpers and breath heavily.  
Rin was constantly pumping in chakra worried and sad, and Obito was hovering like a mother hen which had just gotten it's head chopped off... Minato-sensei... Well, the man was constantly on alert, which put him on edge, and anything that put him on edge tended to get him cranky, and he had never been so glad to see the village gates.


	4. Chapter 4

When Sakura woke up, her chest hurt like a bitch. She blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling above her, rapidly, her mouth tasting like something had died and rotted in there, and the awful lingering sensation of something was wrong strong in her mind. She could feel the IV in crook of her arm, and sensed more than saw the presence of someone in the room with her. It wasn't a chakra she was familiar with, so she reacted on instinct, quick as lightening she pulled out her IV, and was about to throw it when her legs wobbled and she fell in a graceless heap.

"Nurse!"called out the man in front of her, and she looked up, eyes narrowed, IV at the ready, never mind the fact that she couldn't seem to move.

"Where am I?"She asked, and she hoped for pissed and righteous, but got instead soft and high. She blinked.

"Konoha hospital."he said, and strikingly familiar eyes looked back at her, a few quite like Naruto's, and she froze at the near man that looked so much like him. She frowned and raised her makeshift weapon higher.

A nurse came in then, and gasped.

"What is going on here?!"she snapped out, jumping forward, only to be stopped by Sakura snapping off a bit off the IV and launching it into the nurse's arm.

"Where am I?"she asked again, and the Not-Naruto looked at her sympatheticly, his palms forward, as if he was talking to a wild animal. Her eyes darted back and forth between the man and the nurse, eyes wide and she felt her chest rise and fall rapidly as she sat up.

"Konoha hospital."he said it again, lying to her, and she raised her weapon again. She knew Konoha hospital, she spent most of her time in Konoha there, and it was obvious this was a very carefully placed illusion.

She must have gotten captured, and she was pissed that she had. But she decided to play along, if only to make sure she could escape. It was a miracle they hadn't recognized her(her pink hair was singular in the ninja world) if they had they would have never chosen the hospital, too many variables that she could single out since she nearly lived there.

"Why am I here?"she asked instead and she hated how small her voice sounded.

"You were hurt when my team found you."he said soothingly, and she would have believed him if it weren't for the fact that Sakura was onto his bullshit.

She narrowed her eyes, and did a small internal check on her body. Her chakra was low, her legs felt weak, as if she had been sleeping for days. She had about two seconds flat to get past the man and out the window, and she could do that-

"Well it isn't every day a little girl threatens a grown jonin with a IV."Sakura froze, and her eyes bolted to the door, and a stately old man she had once known stared at her. The_ Third Hokage _stared at her.


	5. Chapter 5

Sakura had learned to live with a lot in the course of her life. All and all, having a demon vessel as a best friend tended to help you believe in the impossible. She stared at the man in front of her, and she forced her face into a neutral mask. It was hard to do so, she was emotional at best, and she couldn't decided what was the best face to face a dead man. Her chest heaved, and she had the distinct feeling of bile rise up in her throat. Naruto would hate her for seeing him, she thought, knowing how close he had been with the old man. Illusion or not, she had to get away, her eyes flickered to the door, and she tried to ignore looking at the old(yet somehow younger looking) man that stood in his kage robes, looking stately and amused.

"I don't think you can make it that far, you've been asleep for a few weeks. Besides, you're bleeding."said the old man, and her head snapped back to him. Automatically she healed her wound, focusing her sluggish chakra into the small wound on instinct, as well into her chest.

The nurse gasped, and Sakura hissed as she felt her knees buckle, black spots appearing in her vision. The world tilted, and she vaguely tired to twist the IV away from her so she wouldn't get stabbed, and was caught into warm arms.

"Easy."said the tall Not-Naruto, and she grimaced at him, puzzled by fact that that simple attempt to heal her chest and arm had made her so weak...

She took a deep breathe and looked at her chakra reserves, tentatively. What she felt there made her cry out, for her chakra was so small and pathetic she might as well have been a paper weight at that point. She was alarmed when the Third Hokage approached her, brown eyes sharpening and the teeth he had clenched around his clay pipe. Sakura swallowed.

"Something wrong child?"and the piercing gaze he gave her reminder her of his nickname, the Professor.

She didn't say a word, but gave the man a quick nod.

"I think so as well. Minato come, this girl is going to discus the fact that four year old child knows medical jutsu, and if she doesn't, well, I'm sure Konohagakure Intelligence Division can give us answers."his words were spoken almost jovially, but there was a tone of reluctance in his inflection.

She tried to struggle, but the ninja who held her, held fast, and they disappeared in a yellow flash.


	6. Chapter 6

Sakura tried her best not to fidget underneath the Hokage's stare, her hands twisting as he simply looked at her, pipe in mouth fingertips folded together in front of him. The jonin, Minato, as he had introduced himself was stationed outside, and a sound seal had been placed around the room.

"Deaging and time-travel."he said plainly, his mouth frowning. Sakura blushed at how stupid that sounded, but really, as soon as she had realized that that rouge nin had sent her back...

Well, she had reacted as any good ninja would, and reported it to their leader. Even if the leader across from her was well, dead in her time, and the her actual leader was the son of the _man_ that was outside. She knew Naruto wouldn't resent her for this, seeing both the old man and his father(future Hokage in his own right), but she couldn't help the guilt... If she saw his mother she was going to have to kill herself right then and there.

"Frankly child I have no idea how to believe you."said the old man, looking puzzled. She understood this, because now the village was in War, and the man across from her was not stupid in any sense, the word of a child, chakra wielding at that, was not going to be taken without wariness.

"Get a Yamanaka, Ino-...Inoichi."she said, and flinched at the mention of the another dead man... She suppose she was going to meet a lot of ghosts, and she shivered at the thought.

The old man leaned forward, a frown on his lips.

"Why him? He's only nineteen, heir of course, his father would be far better use of-"

"I'm going to know him. I trust him. He's a good man. I can't let anyone else in my head."she said softly, because the one other person who she would trust in his stead wouldn't be born for another decade or so.

"Why should I even let this happen?"

"Because you have too trust me as well. You're one of the Hokage, and I _am_ future nin of Konoha, but my complete trust in you only goes so far from your face. I don't know if this is an elaborate illusion, a way to get secrets out of my head. I have to be sure, and for this to be real to me, it has to be _him_."

"I would be an idiot to allow you near a man you know by name child."he said sternly, not wavering.

"But any other Yamanaka would be thrown out of my head, because I won't allow them near the things in my head."

He stared at her for half a second, and then his narrowed.

"Your bluff is admirable, but futile child. The Head of the Clan has already been sent for. He will uncover the truth."

She stared back at him, and grimaced, but otherwise nodded. It seemed as if it was going to be a long day.


	7. Chapter 7

Ino's grandfather was an old, harden man, passed his prime and Sakura was not surprised she had never lived to see the man, as he looked ready to fall over, his skin wrinkled and without real color. His eyes were flat and hard, his thin lips pinched, and his stark white hair wispy about his shoulders. She was surprised that he had managed to produce a son only nineteen years ago, but figured that the course of living quiet possibly through the first war, second, and now third had taken a toll on the older male. She eyed him with distrust, seeing none of his granddaughter's demeanor in the crabby looking man.

Without flinching at her small appearance, he swept into her mind, fast, and with far more skill than his granddaughter had had at thirteen. Sakura flinched at the invasion, her heart pounding and sweat slipping down her brow as the older man invaded her senses, trying to barrel through with the ease and the practice of someone who had done this for a long time. So many years had passed since she had felt such a violation, and some images of the last invasion flooded through her mind even as she tried to push him back.

Spinning red eyes, belonging to a long dead boy, made her gasp, convulse, and she took the older Yamanaka into her barely repressed memories without really meaning too. Blood and light, the song of a thousand birds singing out... Pain, lungs collapsing, the smirk on a cool face... Shots, screams, fire...Flat black eyes cooling with death, clutching at the remnant of his humanity as she tired to save a corpse... Naruto's tears and her own, the red haze of the Kyuubi... She cried out.

The head of the Yamanaka lasted about two minutes before he was pushed out, and Sakura eyed the man warily as he jumped up, kunai in hand. It took him about two seconds to press it against her throat, his pale, pupiless eyes so common to the Yamanaka burning with fury.

"Stop!"said the Hokage, and the wizened ninja shot a look at his superior, but he didn't removed the kunai.

"She shouldn't be able to do that. She pushed me out. She's experienced the Sharingan, she's _wrong._"he hissed, voice, in contrast to his appearance, deep and strong. She glared at the man from behind the blade, mouth thin.

"_Shou_."

With a disgusted look, the old man stepped down, hands fisting as he eyed her. Sakura glared right back, hand coming up absently to heal the the shallow cut that he had made, and watched with wariness as he stiffened at her blatant display of chakra control. She hissed internally as she watched her painfully small reserves dwindle even further, and thanked her lucky stars that she had pushed out the Patriarch before he had dug too deeply.

"Inoichi is the only one to get into my head."she panted, ignoring Shou Yamanaka's deadly glance as he stepped forward in favor of the Hokage.

The Professor looked at her plainly and narrowly, smoking his pipe in a slow, leisurely manner, the smoke trailing lazily and opaquely. He didn't move, or at least, she didn't see him move, but suddenly the veteran was clutching her newly healed throat, rubbing the wrong skin and making her stiffen as he lifted her clear off the chair she had been forced to sit in. It was this, she thought as he carelessly lifted her above his head that old ninja were so deadly, why Danzo had been so deadly, why Obito had been so deadly, because years of experience meant they had lived just that long to be even deadly than the zealousness of their youth.

"You don't bluff."he said it slowly, carefully. His hold on her neck was firm, but strangely did not put any pressure on her wind pipe, she was grateful, knowing this was just a show of intimidation.

His dark eyes spoke of a measuring nature, teeth clenched around his clay pipe.

"No, Hokage-sama."

He put her down lightly, examining her throat carefully, puffing out a ring of his pipe.

"Shou, what did you see?"

The other man looked at for a second, hard and glaring before he responded.

"Chaos. Mainly, I know she was a attacked by an Uchiha... Some sort of red energy... Birds chirpping, blood... I'm not sure, it was very clear; she pushed me out before I could see anything of real value."she glanced at the ground, shivering at the memories the old man had found.

The Hokage looked at her for half a beat, watching as she clutched at her chest, rubbing at a scar that she had refused to heal from Sasuke's blow, before he turned to his comrade.

"Send for your son, I want answers, and I want them now."he said plainly and with no room for argument.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.


	8. Chapter 8

When Inoichi had heard that he was to enter the mind of a person of suspect, called in by the Hokage himself, he had not been expecting the small, pink haired girl with bruises starting to form around her pale neck to be waiting for him. The personification of spring, the girl's green eyes had stilled at the sight of him, and his father had looked on with a glare at the tiny, wisp of a girl. She had smiled at him, her eyes trembling with an assortment of emotions that he couldn't keep up with, along with the start of tears forming in the rich, light hue. He had been on guard the second his father had told him that she had managed to push him out of her mind, but the welcoming, if confusing relief on her face as she looked at him made him pause.

He had entered her mind in a quick, and effortless way, wondering what had stumped his father when he met a wall. He had jumped in his spiritual self, and wondered as he was approached at a very grown looking woman, the same diamond seal on her forehead, same vibrant pink hair. He would have pegged her for around his own age, and wondered as she extended a well calloused hand.

He took it without hesitation, warmth and affection filling her mindscape as her emotions shifted and shimmered; fear, trust, disbelief, lost, sorrow, longing, and devastation. He nearly jerked back, but allowed the smiling, crying woman to guided him through the wall, passing through it like a phantom.

The onslaught of her memories made him gasp, and he was allowed to see her life on fast forward.


	9. Chapter 9

The Hokage stared at the silent man in front of him, pacing back and forth, tears flowing clearly and easily down his sturdy cheeks. His long, blonde hair whipped back and forth in the force of his pacing, and the girl simply stared at her hands. She looked the picture of innocence, from her pastel hair, to her small frame. Even her floral name gave him a sense of fragility and made him want to lower his paranoid senses, but the way her light eyes worked, cataloging every detail of the room, and the sheer depth of light shade made ever hair on the back of his neck stand on end. The seal on her forehead, and her casual use of jutsu made every hackle and alarm that he had had in the course of his long life and made him want to chuck the girl into Interrogations and never let her out.

"Report."he barked, and Sarutobi nearly grinned as the young man, still on the cusp of boyhood and manhood, stiffened and placed himself in front of him, acting the part so easily and removing any tension in five seconds flat. Inoichi glanced at his father for a half a beat, before he shook his head.

"This is beyond S-class secret Hokage-sama, not a lot of people should be involved."said the young man slowly, and Sarutobi saw the wisdom, and frank dismissal of the boy's father quickly enough.

"Shou, wait outside."

The man looked as if he was about to protest, but no matter what, Sarutobi only waved his hand dismissively and shot the man a firm glare, though older by a number of years, the man before him was be hard press to come even close to beating him in a fight, and his patience was long gone by now. The Yamanaka head left in a huff.

"She's telling the truth. No one can make fake memories that well, and the sheer depth of her mind... She's definitely not a child mentally."Inoichi was prompt, and he showed weakness easily enough by scrubbing his eyes tiredly.

"What did you see?"

"Her whole life... Your death... My funeral. My _daughter_."said the young man, and he looked up, trusting whatever he had seen within her mind utterly.

Sarutobi felt the weight of what that meant, and looked at the girl in question, who was staring at them with her large eyes. The weight of intelligence was unmistakable.

"So child, what do you plan to do now?"the wariness was something he didn't try to hide from his voice.


	10. Chapter 10

The question made Sakura pause she looked at the men in front of her. It was a fair enough question, and honestly, she had no idea how to answer that. What could she do in a situation like this?! What the_ hell _kinda of plan could she make? Part of her hated the injustice of the entire situation, she had served her time in the War, cried, bled, and lost people precious to her(including the men in the room with her), she knew she deserved the peace of the Konoha she had left, not whatever shit-storm this one was in. She was the result of the end of the story that was about to unfold here, and she felt panic enter her as she thought of any of the tragedies that would happen in a span of less than fifty years. But, she thought as she looked away from the men, out to the window, and at the monument that was missing three faces, she knew for damn sure what she _wanted_.

"I want to try and get to my proper time."she said it swiftly, but winced at the wistfulness in her tone. She couldn't help it, because a helluva lot of problems had arose the second she understood that this was not an illusion, and she really was in the past, with two dead men in front of her, and two more standing just outside.

The Hokage nodded, slowly, sighing heavily and she swallowed thickly at the gesture.

"What about in the mean time? I'm still not entirely convinced child, whether or not I can trust you, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you out of Konoha, especially with your stunt with the Yamanaka."his words, though etched with his tired wariness and overall perplexment, was firm and unyielding.

Inoichi, whom had kept silent, cleared his throat.

"Might I make a suggestion?"he asked in a slightly hoarse voice. The Hokage turned to him, and nodded.

The man who would become Ino's father, and the most skilled interrogator from his clan, sighed, and looked the Hokage straight in the eye, unyielding and every bit the man he would become, and die as.

"Put her in the Academy, make one of the Shinobi keep an eye on her as long as she's within the village, just in case she did managed to trick me. And if she did, we kill her."

Cut clear, and dry, no room for compromise nor was it weak. They were wise enough not to kill her, and they were not stupid enough to let her roam free. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, and thanked whatever power at be for Inoichi. The Hokage gave a nod, and turned to her.

"Any complaints?"he demanded, hard and tiredly.

She shook her head.

"Only a request, nothing of who I am, what I know, or anything that even comes to being the truth leaves the room."she said, and winced at the narrowed eyes she received.

"Well Sakura-chan, dead men tell no tales and, after all, to you, that is what we are."said Inoichi.


	11. Chapter 11

Minato Namikaze studied the girl sitting next to the Hokage with more than a little interest, watching, rather pleased, that she seemed to be recovering nicely from her wounds, and as she fidgeted underneath the gaze of the entirety of the Konoha's shinobi with a firm frown. The grip the Hokage had on her shoulder was loose and gentle, but the girl was as tense as a compressed spring, her light green eyes moving swiftly around the room in a series of successions, never pausing, never faltering. Frankly, to her, he looked like a wild animal, and he waited for her to bolt as she had so tired at the Hospital. She didn't, and she faced the room with surprisingly good grace, even if her knuckles were white with the pressure she was keeping up as she held onto the seat of her chair, or the tension that he spot in her neck. He felt sympathy arise in him as the Hokage told her tragic tale; An orphan(the thought brought twang of empathy from him) living with her older brother Naruto, refugees of the War and from the outskirts of Fire, trained mildly in both medical justu, and the shinobi arts by their late grandfather. They had been headed toward Konoha when they were attacked. She didn't know by who, but she said she lost her brother in the skirmish, and had been injured herself before she could hide.

In most likeness, the girl's brother was dead, and that fact that she had made it to Konoha seemed to be a cruel twist of irony to him. However, he saw a strength in her straight back, a certain amount of pride in her spirit despite how her mouth trembled as the Hokage told her story. When done, he asked a question of who would care for the girl until she graduate from the Academy, and Minato, being the impulsive, damsel in distress saving man that he was, couldn't help but blurt out;

"I volunteer."


	12. Chapter 12

Sakura took a second to register what the future Yondaime said, and flinched. She had hoped Inoichi would volunteer, but as she eyed the man, his father was glaring daggers at him, and she knew that she would not get any help there, for Shou was still the head of the Clan, and she was out of luck. Unsurprisingly, no one else volunteered, mistrust clear on their faces. Something clenched in the pit of her stomach, and at the Hokage's cue, she stood, and walked as slowly, and none-threateningly as she could to the Yellow Flash.

That didn't stop most of the Shinobi from watching her every move. She licked her lips as he looked at her, smiling, looking so much like his future son that she nearly tackled him in a hug, instead, she gave him a tentative smile, and got a soft touch to her head in response, before ruffling her short hair lightly.

She blinked at the action, one Kakashi had done so often when she had been younger, and peered at the man that had died for his son's sake, and gave him a larger smile. She wondered if the action was one that Kakashi had learned... With a few parting words, the whole of force of Shinobi was dismissed, and Sakura diligently followed the twenty or so year old man to outside the tower.

"Neh, Sakura-chan, is it alright if I call you that?"he asked, and he sounded so much like his son, if with a deeper voice that she froze. She nodded slowly, and eyed him as he crouched down, opening his arms.

"Namikaze-san, thank you for volunteering."she said, and watched as his brows furrowed, no doubt at her more mature form of speech. She had promised the Hokage that she would play her part as a child, but she had never said she had to be a idiotic child, and settled for being a quiet, mature one.

"None of that Sakura-chan, call me Minato, now come on, you have to go back to the hospital to be looked over, and then you can meet my Genin team, they helped bring you to Konoha."he spoke with a calm, but pleasant demeanor.

He wasn't as hyperactive as his son, she noted with a wiry sense of relief. He was far more... Subdued, low key in his speech and mannerisms, not to mention far more refined than her coarse Naruto. She could deal with his face readily enough, as long as he didn't act exactly like her best friend, because while his face was near identical, the hint of roundness was lost in the sharper features of the father, a certain sparkle so commonplace in Naruto's eyes was lackluster in comparison. She eyed his arms warily for a second, already been subject to his famous 'yellow flash' form of transportation justu, but stepped into his arms readily enough, knowing that there was no way around it.

"That's the spirit."he said it cheerfully, warmly, before they disappeared in a yellow flash once again.


	13. Chapter 13

Kakashi Hatake eyed the young girl in front of him with more than a little distrust. She was looking was looking around the room periodically, with just her eyes, a subtle movement that most would have missed if they were not paying attention. Kakashi was paying attention, his own eyes narrowed as she seemed to look anywhere but him, her gaze mostly focusing on both Rin and Sensei. He scowled at her interest, and at the Medics as the went around the girl, checking her chakra network, her wounds, which he noticed were gone, and her overall progress.

She looked nothing like the black and blue girl he had seen over the last few weeks, pale and barely breathing in the small, in accordance to what the medics(and her chart) said, coma. The bandages around her chest, he noticed, were gone, as was the IV, and she was taking small, controlled sips of water.

"Oi."he said, once the Medics had ushered out his Sensei in favor of talking to her 'appointed guardian' over her status. Her gaze, which had been narrowed and focused on the retreating adults, turned to him, and he saw a widening of her eyes before they relaxed altogether.

The gaze that met his own eyes sort of pissed him off, seeing as a little girl barely up to his chest should look... So calm, or still in comparison to other brats her age. She smiled, slightly, hardly there and little tentatively. Rin, next to him, grinned in response.

"My name is Nohara Rin."she said brightly, and the girl blinked before she nodded, and said her name in response, before she turned to Kakashi, waiting for him to speak again.

He didn't introduce himself, as Sensei had already done so, making it pointless for him to do it again. Instead, he said:

"So, what happened to your brother?"

The girl blanched, and next to him, Rin gasped out his name. Kakashi ignored the older girl completely, and focused on the small girl. Her story, or at least the one the Hokage had told made no sense at all, and he wondered where the hell her supposed brother had disappeared to. Shinobi Rule Forty Two; A Shinobi must see the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings. The girl on her part, frowned, and narrowed her eyes, and he blinked at the tears she was pushing back.

"That, _Ha. Ta. Ke._-san, is a very good question. One I don't know the answer to."she said her words carefully and evenly, but there was a hint of sadness that he didn't think was faked. He flinched back, glaring at the use of his last name.

"Just Kakashi."he said through clenched teeth, and watched as he eyes flickered, before they softened, all misty with tears.

"Well, just Kakashi-san, I'm Sakura, and don't you ever mention Naruto again."she said this just as evenly as before, before she promptly turned her head away from him, dismissing him as easily as one would do to a dog.

Kakashi felt his dislike for the small girl rise, and he bore his teeth beneath his mask as she continued to ignore him in favor of Rin. Shinobi Rule a hundred and fifty two, he thought, clenching his fists; Never let a suspicious person out of sight. That rule taught him to watch closely.


	14. Chapter 14

Obito Uchiha was many things. He was a crybaby(not that he'd admit it to his teammates), he was constantly late, he was a bit of dreamer, and he could admit to himself, he was a bit of knucklehead. But, at that moment, he was worried. He had stood through the assembly over the girl his team had found with mixed feelings, wanting for the life of him to volunteer to bring her home, but a stern look from his the head of the clan was enough to make him keep his hand down. When his sensei had done it instead, Obito had let out a silent cheer.

The second he had seen her crash from canopy Obito... Obito had felt something he couldn't describe tug at him. Despite Kakashi's thoughts to the contrary, he understood the consequences of the fact that his village was at war. The girl was just a extreme example to further his feelings on the subject. Most of them centered around the fact that he wished he could prevent such thing from ever happening again. And, that he wanted to help her, because he felt that was what he had to do.

He ran, late of course, having dozed off after the frog had given him a message that Team Seven was to meet at the hospital that day on the account of Minato-sensei taking care of the girl... Sakura, he thought to himself, grinning at the appropriate name for the pink haired girl, and ran into her room at high speed. Kakashi and Rin, were already there, but Minato-sensei wasn't in sight. And very light set of eyes glanced, and locked in his direction.

"You're late."said Rin, frowning, and he flushed, scratching at the back of his neck.

"I ran into a little old lady on my way here, she needed to see her grandson on the other side of the village."he lied sheepishly, and got a glare for his efforts on Kakashi's part, while Rin just sighed.

The little girl, Sakura, let out a giggle, seemingly unintentionally, for her hand slapped over her mouth the second she did. Obito perked up at that, and smiled at the girl, fiddling with his goggles as she stared him down.

"I'm Uchiha Obito, I'm glad you're okay."he said, and approached her bed, smiling. She froze as he got closer, her hand clenching tightly in her lap. He reached out, ignoring Kakashi's hiss of protest, and carefully placed his hand on the girl's.

Her hand was clammy, and she was blinking rapidly as he unfurled her fingers. She looked at him for half a beat, her light green eyes unwavering and misty as she looked at him, before she blinked slow and hard. Swallowing, she looked up into his eyes, the one place she hadn't been looking at the entire time she had stared him down.

"I'm Sakura."she said it slowly, quietly to the point that he struggled to hear her. She sounded sad, and a little afraid.

Obito didn't like that at all.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, everything is going to be okay. I'll protect you, I promise."he said, and closed both hands around her limp hand, grinning all the while.

She only stared at him, green eyes wide, and disbelieving. Obito made it his goal to take that disbelief away.


	15. Chapter 15

Minato Namikaze walked back back to Sakura's hospital room with mixed feelings, records in hand. On the one hand, he felt great relief at the girl's now near perfect health, on the other, he felt a great heap of suspension on the case of said health, since most of her healed body was attributive to the girl's own medical techniques. Her wounds that still were there, were superficial, mostly cuts and bruises that had already began to fade quickly in the tell tale way that most Medics handled things like that, how he had seen Rin do many times in the short span of time he had with his Genin team. Rin lead him to not be so suspicious of a child being cable of Medical justu...

But Sakura had been able to heal and reconstruct the remaining deformation and breaks in her chest cavity, a process that couldn't be done by the Professionals whiles she had been in her coma state because of the girl's interfering chakra that had set in soon after the had reached Konoha, an unconscious act that had been speeding up her healing processes, something that the Medics had dismissed as a defense reaction and sporadic. That, in accordance to the astounded Medics now, was a sign of a proficient in the art.

Though the Medics had said that it was mostly thanks to Rin that she had reacted the way she had, and that she had had the chance to do the final, and least complex part of healing when she had woken up. The gleams in their eyes at the child's talents in their art had him more than a little uncomfortable and worried, though, scheming of adults was not his biggest worry when it came to the girl, but the fact that the action could cause a great back lash on her developing chakra network.

The girl's reserves were impressive for her age, well above chunin rage, but they had been heavily damaged, most likely heavily assaulted by foreign chakra, limiting her access until they were given time to recover. The fact that the assault that had most likely also cost her brother his life, and could potentially lead to crippling the girl made him feel a hot flash of anger. He only wished that whatever had happened to her was open to Jonins, as the details of her assault were confidential, so he could at least hunt down the people who had done this to a _child_. But the Hokage had been firm at the secrecy, and had given him a mission scroll without a word.

The scroll about caring for the girl had more or less lead him to believe that the girl was far more closely connected to the village than a simple refugee children running away after their grandfather's death. The fact that he was to report her progress in all aspects of life, as well as bring her at least once a every week to the Hokage gave him a firm inkling of her actual importance to the village... And with that, Minato was even more firm in his resolve to protect the girl, for her sake, he understood the pain of lost through war, and if she was important to the village... Well, it just gave him one more reason to help her.


	16. Chapter 16

Keen eyes snapped to him the moment he entered the hospital room, making his presence known to the better observers. Minato grinned as non-threatening he could to the eyes that met his, two sets, one dark and sharp, the other light and more than a little nervous. Both tense and on alter that he usually saw on the most seasoned of Shinobi. Obito of course was chatting up a storm, clinging at the girl's hand, while the other made wild gestures. Rin was smiling lightly, her medic eyes looking up and down the girl with a relief in her brown eyes. Kakashi and the girl herself were just staring at him, though the later was still keeping up with Obito.

"Yo."he said pleasantly, announcing himself to the rest of his team. Rin and Obito snapped to attention in an instance, grinning at his arrival. Sakura took that moment to easily slip her hand out of Obito's, clenching it hiding behind the fold of her hospital sheets.

He nearly narrowed his eyes at the action, but instead registered her abrasion of being touched by people, something he had noticed easily each time he reached for her. Sakura's eyes he noticed, locked on the folder in his hand, as did Rin's.

"Sensei, is that her final medical report?"asked the gentle girl.

"Why, Rin-chan, it's even better, its her medical file."he responded pleasantly, watching the both females carefully.

"May I see it Minato-san?"asked the smaller child, to the amusing reactions of his team. Her eagerness and plea was obvious in her voice.

Instead of answering, he carefully walked over and placed it into the younger girl's lap. She blinked, eyes widening as he smiled. She stared at it for half a second, signing deeply before she opened it. Rin stared, eagerness in her expression, eyes gleaming, while as both boys narrowed their eyes, obviously doubting her ability somehow. She flipped it quickly for the observations of her time in her coma, frowning deeply, eyes flickering quickly down the page, before she flipped to the more current section of her file. Her small hand absently came up to rub at the strange diamond shape seal on her forehead, and she bit her lip unconsciously. She then looked up quickly, over to the purple haired girl, eyes wide.

"Thank you for saving my me."she said faintly, her gaze then flickered over to the rest of them, and she repeated the message as Rin beamed.

"You're very welcome."Rin said happily.

"You're use of chakra pulses saved my chakra network from frying all together."said the younger girl, slowly, and she sounded pained at the very thought.

"You understand that?"asked his Medic Genin, eagerly, jumping up to loom over the girl, who nodded, smiling tentatively at the sudden lost of personal place, and scooted back not to subtly.

Kakashi gave out a scoff, eyes narrowed.

"I thought you were trained lightly in Medical Justu."he said it harshly, and Minato frowned at the hostility that even seemed a bit much concerning the youngest member of his team.

Sakura gave him a deadpan stare, raising her pastel brows high.

"But I can read."she said it dryly, making the older boy clench his fists.

"That doesn't explain any-"

"My knowledge in Justu is mainly theoretical, I can't even perform most of it right _now, _especially with the damage to my chakra network. But I can understand it on paper."she interrupted the straight lance boy firmly, heat coming to her cheeks at the entire attention placed on her.

"Sakura-chan you are so cool!"said Obitio, somewhat oblivious at the daggers his teammate was giving the girl, or the slight flinch she gave pass the smile she gave the hyper active Uchiha.

Minato sighed at the obvious hostility that had formed in his absence, and wondered if his youngest student would ever relax. Chunin or not, the boy needed to learn to act more like... Well, his age, and yes, they were at war, but it still didn't mean that he had to be a complete adult for the majority of the time. If he guessed by the looks he was giving the pink haired child in their midst, he had a great doubt that would ever happen though.


	17. Chapter 17

"Sakura, you will be discharged tomorrow morning after another night of observation. If you're up to it, Rin can take you shopping for whatever you need."said Minato-sensei, and Rin Nohara perked up at the mentioning of her name.

She smiled gently at the girl in the bed, and already began to make plans for whatever the girl would need in the wake of her new move to her Sensei's home, and her impending time at the academy. She knew the basic supplies that were in the Jonin's home, and diligently took out a small pad of papers where she wrote notes to herself regularly, least she forget anything. The pinkette looked at the Sensei with a flushed face.

"I don't have any money, I-"

"Don't worry, I'll pay for whatever you need."the girl looked so embarrassed by the thought, that Rin felt a flash of sympathy. She looked ready to protest, and protest she _did._

It was like an interesting tennis match, really, boy Minato-sensei and she shot logic back and forth, neither about to back down. Rin took that moment to add stubborn in the qualities she had noticed about the young refugee. It was a list that was getting longer the more she spent with her, and Rin couldn't help the like she felt for the strange child. By what she had seen, though jittery, and obviously nervous, they were both very liked minded. Even if the girl was younger than her by about six years, she felt an instant sort of... Kin ship, likeness in the way she held herself that made Rin feel as if she were being pulled in to gravitate around her. The fact that she was a Medic nin, or at least in training to be one helped, for she couldn't count how many times that her teammates just stared at her when ever she explained the satisfaction of pulling a torso together or discovering an antidote...

She also felt empathy for the girl, looking at her from underneath her lashes, and the obvious discomfort and annoyance on her pale face. The girl was a mature person, she had observed, and from what she could tell, on par with Kakashi when it came to intelligence. The fact that she was most likely used to caring for herself was obvious in her speech patterns and her temperament. The fact that she was going to be cared for seemed to put her on edge, and in light of the circumstances, Rin had no doubt that Sakura was going to be pushed outside of her comfort zone a lot.

"You can't exactly walk around in your hospital clothes."she said softly, and the girl looked pained, but nodded sharply.

Rin smiled to her, patting her hand softly, before she showed her the list she had written down in the course of the conversation, and her thoughts. Sakura looked over it for about five seconds, before she reached for the pen, and together, they went over the list together. Rin, sensing the automatic strive for organization in the other girl, felt a sense that a wonderful friendship was about to begin.

* * *

**AN(PLEASE READ FOR CLARITY'S SAKE): I do not, in any shape or form, own Naruto. Those rights belong to its Mangakai, publishing company, and animation studios. This is me just going crazy.**

**So, first, I wanted to say thank you so much for anyone reading the story. Honestly, I was surprised at how much feedback I got from this, but, well, here we are! I want to also admit that I haven't really read much of Naruto(as much as I love it), I have however, read too many spoilers via the wiki, fanfiction and friends who have kept up to date. Most of my knowledge might be wonky, but I think my intent has come across well enough, and feel free to point out any mistakes, ect, when it comes to whatever is going on.**

**I want to make this as cannon as possible, but since the time before the events of Naruto is more or less still dubious and not clear to anyone but the Mangakai himself, I'm going to be taking artistic liberties here and there to make my story make _some_ sense with the limited knowledge I have. Also, I plan to fudge with the age of at least one character that isn't technically born in cannon yet(but I need him in my story now for it to work, so there we go), not to mention I made an OC a few chapters back(Shou, oh, welcome to existence because I kinda needed someone for Sakura to SHANNARO out of her mind). For the most part, other than for that one person, ages are accurate in accordance with what the wiki says, and only a few key events are going to change without Sakura actually doing to work with the story.**

**On that note, to clear up any confusion, context time! This story is presently taking place 19 years before the beginning of the first chapter of Naruto, about 7 years before the Kyuubi attack. It's been a year for Team Minato since they've graduated(for Kakashi as well, I changed his graduation age to fit the story(originally it was 5)), and of course its during the Third Shinobi war.**

**Ages/Status Of Characters Mentioned So Far: **

**Special Jonin/Citizen(as she about to enter the Academy), Sakura Hanuro: 19(4 physically) **

**Special Jonin/ Genin Instructor, Minato Namikaze: 20**

**Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen: 49**

**Jonin, Inoichi Yamanka: 19 **

**Retired Jonin/Clan Head, Shou Yamanka: 55(OC)**

**Chunin, Kakashi Hatake: 7**

**Genin, Rin Nohara: 10**

**Genin, Obito Uchiha:10**

**So yeah... Context, I really hope I haven't confused anyone with what I have posted, I have a bad habit of being... Vague, and I hope what I've written has come out more or less cohesive... Also, I'm horrible at Grammar, as you may have noticed. ... Hmm, with that, I say thank you all for reading, and reviewing, and enjoy! Feel free to PM, review if you have any questions or comments.**

**~Peace,**

**Moon Witch**

**P.S. I have a weird habit of writing three chapters at a time for this story (0.o).**


	18. Chapter 18

Sakura had never been so glad to be discharged from the hospital in her life, not liking the lingering looks the medics gave her. It was hard to hold back a glare, if she had really been a child, the obviousness at their manipulating would have been over her head at her current physical age. They thought her a medical prodigy, a term that had made her uncomfortable for the majority of the later part of her life, because she wasn't one, she had worked her ass off to get her medical skills, and yes, it had come easier to her, but after Tsunade had pounded her skull to the ground, after she had worn her fingers to the bone and forced her through trail by fire.

She had lost her first life at thirteen, she had saved her first at the same age, killed her first kill, fought and killed an Akastuki at fifteen and she had watched the world burn into nothing but ash when she was sixteen. She had watched it all and she had fought for her standing in life, to move away from the weak, love sick girl she had been at twelve. She had watched Naruto save the world while she nearly died, she had watched him build up the world along side everyone who had lived through its destruction.

At nineteen, Sakura refused to be considered a prodigy, no matter how that put her up to scale on the betters of her generation,whether medical, taijustu, she was a product of years of working. She hated the term with a passion. She refused for it to be implied that things came naturally to her, because they didn't. She had worked to get to the point she was at. But, as she looked at herself in the mirror, for the first time she had come here, she felt as if it was going to be unavoidable.

She had checked herself extensively, and come to the conclusion that she wasn't her four year old self, despite appearances, Beyond the obviousness of her small form, she still had her Yin seal, her chakra network, damaged as it was, was still up to pare with her older appearance, and she still carried the scars she had gained in the course of Shinobi career. It was as if... As if the ninja that had sent her here had simply condensed her, and that brought further worries to what the meant for her physically. She had no idea if the damage to her chakra network was because of her condensation, or because the actual act of sending her back to the past.

It was most likely the later, considering it looked to other medics that a foreign chakra had been crammed into her system. She sighed, but diligently put on the clothes that Rin had brought for her, and she frowned at the yukata, a dark green. It was slightly too big for her smaller frame, and she sighed lightly, glad for that she was going to get something for her newly smaller frame, and walked purposely outside, trying not to trip in her large shoes.

"Come in two weeks for your check up sweetie, and make sure to be careful with your use of chakra."said her medic sugar sweet, a woman who until recently, had been working under her.

Sakura smiled thinly at the younger version of a nearly retired woman, and tried to ease her discomfort at her measuring eyes. She was grateful, if startled, at the squeeze Naruto's father gave her shoulder. She tired to force herself to relax, and left with Team Minato with eyes on her back.


	19. Chapter 19

Obito was quick to warm up to Sakura she noted as he left with the males of Team Minato waving like mad, while the calmer of the two departing simply waved, in Kakashi's case, gave a jerky nod, with narrowed eyes that seemed to claim that he was watching her. They walked off to clean up Minato's house, while she and Rin walked towards the shopping district.

Obito seemed to genuinely to like her, she thought, promising her something that Naruto himself would do. It was beyond disturbing, since Obito would try to kill her later, and nearly succeed, and she wondered if he had forgotten her in the future, or if he hadn't, and no longer cared for the innocent promise to protect her. Thinking about it was enough to give her a headache, so for now, she tried not to. His eerie similarity to Naruto made it hard to hate the man that had gone insane with the death of the girl he had loved. But it didn't stop her from flinching each time he reached out to her, an action he did often, ignoring her reaction or being oblivious, she wasn't sure.

Rin, and Minato were hard to not like, but again, her discomfort was hard to dismiss. They were _dead_. Unlike the Hokage and Inoichi, she could not place her trust in them automatically, despite the good she knew they had. It was also harder for her to connect the fact that they were dead with Rin and Minato because she had never known them, and right in front of her. Minato was easier to connect with death though, for he was Naruto's father, and the Fourth Hokage, it was hard not to know his face, or his famous death. But it was hard to feel the pang of longing when she thought of Naruto's similar face.

The hardest out everyone to deal with was definitely Kakashi, she thought. He was downright pain in the ass, with a stick up his own ass. She remember that her sensei had mentioned his straight lance attitude of before, once they had recovered after the war, and how he had been a 'little shit' to quote the man himself. But hearing a story, and experience it first hand were very different things, she thought, and it was hard not to straight up deck the young boy for his uppity attitude.

"Neh, Sakura-san, what do you want to buy first?"asked Rin, slipping the generous amount of money Minato had given her into her shuriken pouch.

Sakura smiled the best she could to the girl.

"Clothes, ninja supplies, and then food."she listed quietly, and was somewhat pleased at the nod she got from Rin.

"Alright, I know a great shop..."


	20. Chapter 20

Minato Namikaze's house was small, four room house at the edge of Konoha's Shinobi district, bordering the Nara forest and hidden in the wake of the large perimeter, full of trees and boasting a small lake that took a majority of the back part of the property. The house itself was a hodgepodge of the traditional, tatami mats and sliding rice doors, with all the modern amenities of a decent, if small kitchen, and bathroom available, or so said Rin. Sakura felt a painful twinge when she saw it, because it was a distinct possibility that this would have been the house that Naruto would have grown up in if Minato had never become Hokage and died.

She shivered in the wake of buttery sunlight, tugging at the light green dress she now wore, with her free hand, letting Rin lead her with her other hand. The younger girl's hand was large in comparison to her own, warm as the sunlight on her skin, and she followed obediently as the girl tugged her along. Part of her felt uncomfortable, she was a grown woman, but the her height had been a hindrance: Rin had almost lost her in the crowd on their way over to the pick out her food preferences. When she had offered her hand, she had taken it grudgingly, something that Rin hadn't missed, considering the small smile she had given her, and the cheerful 'bare with it' from her.

She admired both the girl's perception, and silently cursed her own lack of poker face. She had always been an emotional ninja, something she was constantly teased by her Kakashi and knuckled headed Hokage. She sighed slightly as she came to the modern door, watching with faint interest as Rin opened it with a key from her shuriken pouch, putting it back with the ease of someone who had done it many times before.

Sakura felt a small pang of envy, if she was guessing correctly passed on Kakashi's age, Team Minato had only been formed a year ago, the level of trust Minato showed was beyond that of her own Genin Sensei. Sakura hadn't earned a key to Kakashi's apartment until she had turned seventeen, only granted after she had threatened to burn his Icha Icha after he had crashed at her place for the hundredth time, having 'lost' his key again. She smiled slightly at the memory, and the casual nature their relationship had gained in the wake of the end of the war, comrades and friends, closer in the wake of fire and fighting along each other's side as adults.

She frowned as she entered the Namikaze house, distinct yelling filling her ears as she carefully removed her new sandals. Rin simply sighed, as if this was a frequent occurance and guided her to the source of the yells, and Sakura watched with no small amusement as both Obito and Kakashi engaged in a rather loud fight over the state of the kitchen(Obito's chore). Minato, for his part, was pinching his nose with a distinct oy vey face. The similarity to Sasuke, Kakashi, and Naruto sent a fond, if slightly painful pang of nostalgia through her.

"Hello, Sensei."greeted Rin wiry, as both boys glared at each other, stopping their screaming match as they noticed their entrance.

"Hello Rin-chan, Sakura-chan, got everything you need?"he asked, catching the bag of change Rin threw him. He then threw it to Sakura, and she fumbled for a second before it was firmly in her hands.

She opened her mouth to protest, before he calmly said:

"It's your allowance for the month, use it wisely."he said it in a way that left no room for argument, and she eyed the substantial amount of money with a frown.

Both she and Rin were rather frugal spenders, and much of the money was still there. She sighed tightly, but didn't say another word. If it became evident she couldn't go home, it was obvious that she was going to have to run, and a little extra money wouldn't be too bad. She tired to ignore the twinge of fear of how the Hokage would react to that.

"Where are your things?"asked Obito glancing back and forth between the two of them, obviously noting their empty hands.

Rin perked up, grinning.

"Sakura knows some seals, she made a storage scroll!"she said happily.

Sakura noticed her mistake the second Minato's sharp blue gaze locked to her.

"Seals?"he asked, brows raising, his eyes flickering to her Yin seal.

Sakura shifted, sighing, rubbing at the Yin seal automatically.

"Naruto taught me a few, nothing too elaborate, storage, explosive tags.. He's really good at it."she said said, and remembered the happiness he had shown when she had shown interest.

It had been just after the war, and for a second, she had seen the knuckle-headed twelve year old beneath the grief and maturity given to him in the wake of so many loses.

"How old was your brother?"asked Rin gently, and Sakura swallowed, looking away.

"He's eighteen. He going to turn nineteen in the fall."she whispered, something clenching in her stomach at the use of past tense on Rin's part.

Naruto wasn't dead. He couldn't die, not before her, she thought. That was impossible, he was just out of her reach at the moment, about twenty five years in the future. Naruto and the word dead didn't fit in the same sentence.

"You do know he's probably dead right? Either dead or he abandoned you."spoke up Kakashi, blunt and scornful.

Sakura tensed, eyes snapping up and it took all her will power not to punch the boy through the wall.

"You don't know a single thing about Naruto. He would never abandon me, _while those who break the rules of the ninja world are trash, those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash._ Naruto _isn't_ trash. "she seethed, and at the completely still expression and Obito's dumb struck face, it took her a minute to register her mistake.

Oh fuck, she thought as Kakashi was suddenly in front of her, reaching for her, intent to kill clear enough.


	21. Chapter 21

In seconds, Kakashi was pinned, Rin was crouching in front of the shell shock looking girl, making soothing noises, and Obito had her against his chest. Minato looked down at his student with a sense of disbelief, and tried to ignore the twinge that had come with the look of complete utter devastation that had crossed his student's face at the words the girl had spoken. He carefully grabbed him from the scruff of his neck, ignoring his struggles and taking him outside, throwing him in the direction of the lake, watching as he easily flipped, and landed softly on the surface of the water, small ripples in his wake. The glare he was sending him made him feel a heaviness on his shoulders.

"Why did you attack her?"he asked, questioning the out of character lost of control on his youngest student's part.

Kakashi, all cool grace, walked forward with purpose. He stopped forward at the edge of the lake, the ripples he caused reflecting sunlight.

"She's wrong. I can't explain it, something about her and her arrival just sets me off. She's... She's irritating."he said this with a tone of detachment, but the frustration was still an undercurrent.

In any other given situation, with anyone other than Kakashi, he would have suspected a sense of a crush at those words, but the complete tension that Kakashi tired to hide spoke of more of a questioning of her loyalty, of her stance in the village. He sighed.

"I have a strong suspicion that her grandfather was a retired ninja from the village. Most likely a friend of the Hokage's if there's anything to go by the mission to care for her. She's also to report to the Hokage once a week. If anything, even if you don't trust the girl, trust the Hokage."he said sternly to his student, and watched as the boy clenched his fists for a second, before stepping off the lake all together.

"I still don't like her. She doesn't act like a brat."said Kakashi,

Minato could only sigh, partly in agreement, and partly in frustration at the fact that Kakashi was being a hypocrite in that instance.


	22. Chapter 22

"I'm sorry Kakashi has a stick up his ass."said Obito, watching as the girl carefully arranged the strands of her pink hair in place.

Sakura looked at him, and gave him a small smile as Rin smacked him upside the head. She took pretty red ribbon and placed it in her hair with an air of practice, and he found himself smiling at the overall effect. She looked far more comfortable he thought, she had looked so lost in her hospital and too big yukata. Now in a dress, leggings, shuriken pouch at the side of her little hip, ribbon in hair, she looked as if she could be any little girl walking down the streets.

"Neh Sakura, your speech was awesome."he said and watched as she blinked, looking over at him again with her eyes that struck him as very pretty. She smiled again, blinking quickly, her pink lashes like butterfly wings against her cheeks.

"I think I said the wrong thing."she said it softly, looking after where Kakashi and Sensei had gone.

Rin sighed, but patted the girl carefully on the hand.

"Even if you did Kakashi was out of line."soothed the girl, reaching over to touch the younger girl's hair, before she stopped, and placed her hands awkwardly in her lap.

Obito reacted differently, and tugged at a long strand near the girl's face, before putting it behind her ear. She shifted a little, uncomfortable at the action, but Obito ignored this, determined to make her feel at ease in Konoha, or at least with him.

"It was still cool, Sakura."he said firmly.

The smile she gave him, small as it was, made him feel like he was glowing.


	23. Chapter 23

After making Kakashi apologize(though clenched teeth), the rest of the afternoon went surprisingly well, thought Minato. Rin, Obito, and Kakashi left as soon as they had finished dinner, thank goodness for Rin and her marvelous cooking. The first two of the group said good bye, the male seemingly reluctantly, and Kakashi himself only allowed himself a small nod. Minato sighed slightly, scratching the back of his neck. Sakura watched the three leave, her light eyes unreadable.

"There's only one bedroom."he began, and watched as the girl sighed, and nod.

"I shared one with Naruto sometimes."she said softly, and her eyes looked far away.

Without another word, he set the girl to take a bath, glad for her independence when she said she didn't need him to baby sit her. It was a relief, but a little stilling to see a girl that independent at the age. It was a sort of deja vu, Kakashi had been the same. He sighed and readied himself for bed, making quick notes of the day's event to give to the Hokage later. She tipped toed in, a few scrolls with her things in hand, hair dripping. He tsked, grabbing a towel that he left in the room and walking over to her.

"You'll catch a cold."he told her before he proceed to dry her hair. After he was done, he reached for a comb he kept, and ran it through her short hair without much thought.

The small hiccup he heard from him startled him. And he looked down at the wide eyes that had the beginnings of tears in them. She tired to whip them away, stubbornly, but he reached down and stopped her trembling hands, setting the comb aside.

"It's okay. It's not a bad thing to cry Sakura-chan."

She shook her head, blinking at the tears before she quietly undid her scroll, futon and bedding coming out. She set it out and laid it next to his, before she cuddled into the blankets, her hair and hands the only thing he could see. He sighed, but set himself to bed, and reached out, his hand reaching for her small one. Trembling fingers clenched around his, and they fell asleep with nothing more but sighs and quiet sobs.


	24. Chapter 24

Sakura entered into the Academy on her first day with something akin to nerves settling in her stomach. It wasn't as if Sakura was scared, not exactly. It was the fact that she was going to be forced to play a role that she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to fill. She should have protested Inoichi's plan more she thought, as walked calmly to the familiar, if slightly smaller building, Minato's hand on her shoulder, bento in hand(A factor that had scared the Shinobi sandals off of Minato when he had come to investigate the noises from his kitchen, only to find her using the stove).

She walked with a calm that she didn't feel, eying the various children around her, trying to see if she saw any familiar faces in the crowd, and was somewhat pleased when she found none. This generation of Shinobi, as far as she knew, were about Chunin or Jonin ranked when she was a genin, or dead in the wake of the current War, retired due to various injuries, or something of that nature. The deaths and retirements(forced or gladly taken), and the start of the Fouth Shinobi War were the main reason that their weren't a lot of Shinobi from the previous generations, including the one in front of her.

She felt something tighten in her stomach, knowing that the majority of this somewhat unskilled, but large generation would die in droves in the course of two Wars. But she pushed it down and sighed as Minato squeezed her shoulder, smiling up at him faintly.

"If I'm not to busy with the Team, I'll come for you myself, if not, I'll send one of them when school is over."he told her plainly and without ceremony, and she gave a crisp nod in return.

"Have a nice day, Minato-san."she said honestly, and watched as he gave her a big smile.

"Have a good day yourself Sakura-chan, make friends!"and without another word, he was gone in a yellow flash.

Sakura turned, took a deep breathe, and turned to face the past of Konoha's Shinobi.


	25. Chapter 25

Sakura was usually very good with children. While she mainly cared for the ER if she wasn't running the hospital itself or out on a mission, mid-career and before shit had hit the fan, she had often been saddled with the Pediatrics part of the hospital, and generally, she could hold her infamous temper in check for the sake of the kids in her care. But that was then, and now, Sakura was suppose to be one of them, and she hadn't felt like a child in a long time. Now she was stuck in a room with them, hardly supervised by the old Chunin that would become her homeroom instructor.

"Introduce yourself, child."he said kindly, and Sakura sighed.

"My name is Sakura. Please take care of me."she said softly, dipping her head down.

She had been met with some relief when the Head of the Academy had informed her that she would be in the last class, the one that was set to graduate in a six months time. She wouldn't be dealing with children own 'age', and she was glad. She hardly had patience to act like a fumbling four year old, and was pleased that the entire trail period would be such a short time(if she could get home in less time than that, the better though). However, she as she quietly made her way to the very back, she noticed that the supposedly older students were groaning and giving her piercing, disdainful looks.

"Not another one."muttered a boy as she passed, and she furrowed her brows slightly at his tone, before she continued, and was promptly almost tripped by a girl.

She side-stepped her poor attempt easily enough, and frowned at the blonde, Yamanaka looking girl. The answering glare she got at her effort made her feel as if Shou had given his clan a warning about her, and she nearly groaned aloud at the implication. Instead of dwelling on the 'troublesome' thoughts that came with a grudge against her by an entire clan save Inoichi, she got to her seat, glad for the empty one by the window at the very back, ideal for observing everyone, with a quick escape root to her side if she needed it. A student in front of her looked up, and sighed tiredly.

"I wouldn't sit there if I was you."he said mildly, and she got the distinct impression that he was a Nara with his features, despite his green hair and light eyes. She had never seen him before, and she wondered a little morbidly when he had died or retired.

"Why?"she asked, and got a small snort in return.

"Because our _other_ child prodigy usually sits there."

Confused, she wondered who on earth he was talking about until the door rattled opened. She stiffened immediately, her hands clenching in her lap, and her eyes going wide with disbelief.

"I am sorry for my tardiness Sensei. My morning practice extended farther today."his voice was not the deep, hypnotic voice she recalled dimly in her memories, rather, it was a soft, high voice of a small child.

It sent a chill of both disbelief and dread up her spine.

"Quite alright Itachi-kun, please send my regards to your father and ask him not to delay you next time."

With a crisp nod, Itachi Uchiha walked up the isle, eying her the entire way. He looked remarkably like his brother at that age, save for the smooth, long hair that reached the small of his back, and the slight edge of masculinity that a young, slightly effeminate Sasuke hadn't gained until his late teens. His movements were controlled and smooth, remarkably so for his age, and he made not a sound against the wooden floors as he dodged projectiles or wayward and tripping feet as the teacher fumbled for something in his desk. When he had finally come to the highest tier, he didn't ask for the seat nor kick up a fuss, and simply sat in the seat next to her. Sakura tried her best not to flinch or bolt out the window, her knuckles white as the teacher began with the role.


	26. Chapter 26

"Uchiha Itachi."he said quietly the second lunch started, eying the girl as she brought out her bento.

Distinct light eyed turned to him.

"Sakura."she said softly, and Itachi sensed the wariness in her voice. He gave a small polite smile, applauding her use of caution given her situation.

He inclined his head as well, receiving one in return, and he tried not to let his eagerness show at the prospect of someone his age in class with him show on his face. _A shinobi never shows their true feelings,_ lectured his father's voice, and he tried best not to 'shame' the clan by betraying his anticipation of a child that could understand him. Her movements as she opened her bento were generally smooth, with a small hint of jerkiness to her limbs, but for the most part, they left no room for wasting energy he thought, opening his own bento with the same grace. He also noticed that she was stiff as a board the entire time.

She had been in a coma as of late he thought, recalling the details his father had told him that morning, the real reason he had been late, since his father had been insistent to lecture him on not letting an 'upstart nobody from nowhere' beat him on any of the exams. While Itachi saw the logic on social standing of his clan depending on his performance, and he understood their concern, he couldn't help but think that the girl would not be that ahead of him in anything. It was no disregard for her on his part, he had seen by her calm, collected note taking that she was a studious person and she was already in the graduating class after all, but he simply had the advantage of being raised by a taciturn father and within the village itself. In terms of the exams, he would dominate, he was sure.

"You like onigri?"she asked quietly, taking small bites of her own rice-ball, along side the rest of her somewhat simple meal, it seemed to be a very nutritious meal. He wondered who had prepared it.

"Yes. Especially with tomatoes."he said softly, and noticed that she peered at him strangely, before returning to her food.

They ate in silence for a while, before Itachi gathered the nerve to ask;

"Who made your bento?"

"I did."

He took in this information, the bento wasn't at all messy, even pretty, and he noted that she had great dexterity in her hands.

"You can cook?"

She nodded slowly before she returned to her food, and he to his. The rest of lunch was spent in a wonderful, not quite comfortable silence, but near enough, and Itachi was glad of it.

* * *

**AN: I do not own Naruto, that right belongs to its Mangakai, publishing company and various animation studios. This is me just having fun with its characters.**

**Before anyone asks, yes I know that Itachi isn't technically born in cannon. In reality, I took a bit of artistic license in this story to add him, because, one, it's _Itachi_ and how can I not include him, and two, well, I kinda need him in the story for some aspects I have planned to work. So.. Yeah. Yay Itachi being six years older, now?**

**Oh, and as to his attitude seeming too cheerful or eager or OC, or anything of the like... Well he's _four_. No matter how mature, no matter how intelligent, a four year old would want a friend, and would be rather curious, even relieved to see a child similar to them. Itachi himself is passive in nature, and wouldn't receive Sakura's attitude nor 'genius' as a threat as Kakashi has(no matter what his clan thinks), and also, I've always imagined him as a soft spoken, somewhat shy child that was awkward in his interaction with other kids, stunted in his social growth because of his strict upbringing as Clan heir and relieved prodigy. To see someone that is his age, someone that interacts just as he does, would be a relief and something to be met with eagerness and anticipation. Well, at least, that's my interpretation of him at that age and his reaction to Sakura.**

**And as to everyone reacting positively(with the exception of Kakashi obviously) to Sakura one thing to say about that: The Hokage accepted her into the village, most Shinobi can read the underneath beneath the underneath and understand that he wouldn't do that willy nilly, and that she's being monitored by the Minato, so, they do not see her as an immediate threat.**

**On that note, thank you for anyone that has reviewed so far, and for reading!**

**~Peace,**

**Moon Witch**


	27. Chapter 27

Most of the day of her first day of the Academy went by smoothly, the theoretical and practical lessons so easy it bordered on ridiculous. But Sakura refused to even raise her hand, spoke only when spoken too, and answered as basically as she could to not show any of her real intelligence. At most, she kept it to her old standard when she had first attended the school in her past. It was easy, and while most of the teachers seemed to be testing her, a quick answer was all they needed to leave her alone.

She was glad, but it was very hard not to notice the overall displeased atmosphere in the room coming from her fellow students. Ironically, it seemed to mirror her very first class she had had way back as an actual five year old that understood far more than she should have about the Shinobi aspect of the world as a civilian child, and she mused the wonderful information that was granted to the public at a civilian level. She didn't know whether to be amused or frustrated that no matter what, she was met with contempt any time in a learning environment. Either her first Academy experience, or at the hospital, the people learning along side her seemed determined to hate her.

Except for Itachi Uchiha of course. The thought even now made her want to shift in her seat, and probably jump out the window and bolt out of Konoha, most likely getting herself killed by the ANBU squad that the Hokage would most likely send after her.

_Right._

She couldn't help but feel an enormous pity for what the boy would do in the course of his short life. He was quite literally a child to her right now, not a grown man who had destroyed everything he had ever loved for the sake of his brother, and the village. A living breathing, and so painfully, sweetly, awkward boy that she felt a kindred spirit reflecting from her own experiences as a child.

He was soft spoken, polite, and very considerate of her, when he had noticed that she had forgotten soy sauce, he had simply poured some of his into her empty container, without a word. Between one of the passing periods, when the older kids had come to put in their two cents about her, he had intervened, quietly, subtly as if he had meant it all along and it had nothing to do with her. It was awkward, but in his own way, Itachi was extending a hand of friendship, trying to establish himself as someone who she could rely on.

It had never been more obvious to her how much of a thin line she was walking at the moment, the course of the events she knew to be history, and what she was living now. Logically, she should bat away his hand, maybe figuratively spit in his face, keep him that awkward child and starving for attention and affection that he would later bestow on his brother, a trigger factor in the slaughter of his family.

Logically, she knew that she perhaps should beg the Hokage to lock her in a cell, let her study the justu and kunai that had brought her here through the confines of Kononha's Black Ops 'hotel'. Logically, she knew she should get the hell out of Dodge, so to speak, and remove herself from the interaction with the past, as she should have done the second she had figured out when she really was...

But logic, the thing that had help her survive for nineteen years was compelling her to shun, possibly mentally damage a four year old for the sake of the her past if she kept to the Hokage's plan, which she knew she would because dead or not, he was the Hokage.

_Fuck Logic._

"Uchiha-san, is it alright if I call you Itachi-san?"

The tentative, timid smile, a startlingly contrast from the stiff, rehearsed smile she had received when he had introduced himself, and his generally stoic face was complete worth whatever she had screwed up, she thought.

* * *

**AN: I do not own the rights of Naruto, that belongs to its Mangakai, its publishing company, and its animation studios.**

**And so goes the first steps of Sakura's inclination of consciously changing the course of history.**


	28. Chapter 28

When the last instructor of the day came in, Sakura felt a sense of dread enter her. He called roll, and with a practiced movement she vaguely recalled, every student stood and went to line up against the wall, she stood, but stayed where she was faking ignorance. Itachi lingered with her, and tapped her shoulder slightly.

"Sakura-san it is time for taijustu practice."he said in that quiet, not quite monotone voice of his, and she followed him to the wall with a sense of dread entering her stomach. She nodded instead of emptying the bento she had prepared, and followed the boy to the line.

Quickly and with only the barest hint of horseplay, a stark difference to peace time Konoha she thought, remembering how Iruka had hardly been able to keep them in line, the students walked with a militaristic precision, all to the school yard. The young Chunin, another Yamanaka(she groaned at the glare thrown her way), looking hardly above his early teens, whistled sharply to quiet them, and directed them to an obstacle course, one she remembered faintly hating in her youth, though by the looks of it, it was far more rigorous than the one of her own Academy days. Her fists tightened slightly as she took in the difference of War hit a little closer to her, and the fact that most of the people around her would be dead in less the three decades time brought an uneasy quiver to her stomach.

"A word with you Sakura."said a stately voice, and she was startled by the presence of the Hokage, who had appeared out of nowhere. Noting the several side line glances directed her way, she walked calmly to the old man, and watched him with tentative eyes.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

He looked at her for a second, something in his old that made her want to shrink into herself.

"Don't hold back."he said it simply and with a hint of levity to his voice.

She shifted slightly, panic entering her. She knew what he was implying, and was only grateful that she was out of ear shot.

"I can't become an asset to Konoha."

"You can and will child. If there is a chance that you can't return to your time, you will have to live within the village walls, and you will be the Nin to Konoha in its time of need."he said this with a sadness and sternness that would have cowed most people.

Sakura had lived through much to be most people.

"I would run."

"And we would chase you until the ends of the earth, drag you back, or kill you trying."he said this quickly and without pause.

Sakura clenched her fists.

"Child, just show me your strength. Tell me that in the future, your future, how ever far that may be ahead, that the Will of Fire burns true."


	29. Chapter 29

Translation: Show me what you can do, show me if your really a Shinobi of Konoha through your taijustu style, through your approach of combat. Being Kakashi's student, even in the looses sense of the word had taught her about the underneath beneath the underneath. She sighed, and saw no course out of it. Unlike Naruto, and the main reason she had so insisted to not become Hokage after the war, she had no patience to argue the majority of the day, even for the sake of reason. Good and practiced as she was with politics, she loathed them, and had stuck to the hospital and missions for a very good reason.

But, as she looked at the mulish, unyielding eyes she reinforced a thought that had come to mind a lot in the course of her life dealing with both Tsunade and Naruto, all Hokages she thought with a slight huff, were stubborn as mules.

"I refuse to spar against a child, even the prodigy, I could kill them if I react on instinct or if I miscalculate."she said this sternly. She suppressed her wince at the fly-away name she gave Itachi, but did so for the sake of keeping when she had come from somewhat ambiguous.

With a nod, the Hokage walked forward, smiling jovially to the teacher, and the rest of the class. He sat on a chair that was brought for him, clay pipe between his teeth. Sakura ground her teeth, and lined up with the rest of the students, watching as the Yamanaka, Isamu she thought vaguely, somewhat recognizing him from time spent in Ino's house, timed each student as he past. She was never more glad in her life to be last, and spent the majority of her time waiting stretching out her somewhat stiff body.

Thanks to the efforts of the Medics at the hospital her brief time in a coma had deteriorated neither her reflexes nor her muscles to an unusable state, but overall, even after two days of moving around, and spending said days trying to breathe back some normalcy into her body, she still felt stiff and jerky at moments. The fact that she was still getting use to her smaller frame, and seemed to have lost a significant amount of muscle mass(one of the only things lost in her conversion into a 'child', other than the obvious lost in bone structure and lipids). She crouched as the other children had done, watching as Isamu-Sensei readied his watch.

Before he could even call out, in the instance his finger touched the button, Sakura let herself fly, breathing even and low, letting herself let loose and show the Hokage just how brightly the will of Fire burned...


	30. Chapter 30

Itachi watched with both a sense of fascination and disbelief as the girl finished the course. She did it a full minute and forty seconds before he had finished his own time. He watched as she shifted uncomfortably in her body, stretching herself out rapidly as soon as she had finished, her small chest hardly moving faster in the course of her controlled dash through the obstacles. He knew she was still recovering from her weeks long coma, and felt a rush of...

He couldn't quite describe it. It wasn't rage as his father had tried to instil in him since youth, but more of... It was a intensive, a drive, a example he thought as the Isamu-sensei paired them off, eying the girl with more than a little apprehension. It was a goal to be met, and he felt himself fighting off a smile as the girl walked straight too him, still stretching, moving her limbs constantly as if she couldn't stand still. He had never been so glad to be wrong about his guesses before, but still felt more than a little peeved at the fact that he had underestimated the recovering girl.

She smiled faintly, or at least she smiled until the Hokage, dark eyes thoughtful and watchful, stunned them all:

"Isamu-kun, will you fighting Sakura? Taijustu only."

Their Sensei opened his mouth to protest, but the look sent to him by their Hokage had him nodding, jerkily, eying the little girl with narrowed eyes. The girl for her part, cringed, and shot a frustrated look towards the Hokage, who merely smiled, and it sent a slight chill down his spine. The evaluation of her was very ill concealed, and most of his fellow classmates smirked at the turn of the events, not noticing what their leader wanted from her.

The rest of the class was pushed out of the spare area, and he watched beside the Hokage as the girl simply stood there, and their Sensei, though dislike to the girl clear, watched with a sense of reluctance, and settled into the simplest, easily blocked taijustu style. They did not move, and Itachi watched the as Sakura breathed deep, the only indication that she was ready to fight at all was the slight tension in her legs, for the rest of her was relaxed as if she was standing next to him and simply talking.

Her speed evident by her time at the obstacle course, Sakura hardly seemed to move as their teacher attacked first. All Itachi could see that one second she was there where he was throwing a kick, her legs twitching, and the girl was suddenly calmly to the side, inches away from the blow. This continued for a while, before Sensei increased his own speed, reluctance lost in the wake of frustration.

He did not hit the girl, or at least, he only managed to get a hit in the second he stopped holding back all together.

Itachi watched closely, his shoulders tensing as a well placed knee made a hit into Sakura's stomach. Her answering smile was positively feral, and using the momentum of the knee against him, Sakura curled, sending the man over her head in a quick, practiced movement. Isamu-sensei hit the ground on his feet, a grin of his own seemingly unconsciously coming onto his face.

The real spare had begun then.


	31. Chapter 31

Neither her practice in the morning, nor obstacle course had done a thing to challenge Sakura. They had only proved to her that physically, she was stronger than her four year old self, though her nineteen year old body was stronger than she was currently. The loss of body mass in general made her a bit miffed, after all, all her hard work to bulk up as much as she had within the limitations of her body type and now that power had been fractioned! But she couldn't really complain, she suppose, she could have been reduced to her actual four year old self, and that would have led to a completely different set of problems. Centered mainly around the fact that she would have been defenseless in the wake of her situation.

Isamu Yamanaka was fairly talented in taijustu she noted as she flipped out of the way of his punch, using his forward motion to push herself forward and behind him. He wasn't up to par with her usual partners, Lee, Kakashi, Naruto, and Hinta were powerhouses that never let her rest for a second. However, Isamu did keep her on her toes, she thought as he twisted around, fists reaching, and the very painfully instilled lesson brought by Tsunade's boulder, and Shizune's senbon throwing made her dodge the man's well placed attacks with a sense of gratefulness.

He was capable, better than most Chunin, and she had a feeling that his position as a teacher was only made of necessity to have a serviceable teacher teaching arguably the most used skill in military combat. Considering he was the last of the teachers, she knew he was most likely the one that was sent to reinforce existing skills of a student. She winced however, when he managed to knock the wind out of her slightly with the force of his slightly missed punch.

Like she had feared, she reacted on instinct, punching out with a chakra laced fist. She realized her mistake even before her barely dodged punch missed the ground.


	32. Chapter 32

Sakura's first offensive movement ended the match. The resulting punch was missed by a hair's breathe, and the girl's fist slammed into the ground. The resulting crater made everyone still, and watched in stunned silence as the girl let out a a strangled scream, and Hiruzen reacted on instinct, a child screaming, no matter who she was, calling to the paternal, and automatic instinct to assist anyone in need.

"Call a medic, and a Hyuga."he told the stunned Chunin, reaching for the girl as her hand convulsed.

"Wait."hissed the girl, and he watched in wariness as she held her other hand calmly up in a signal of patience.

She took a deep, steadying breathe, eyes closing. Her fingertips kept their twitching, her wrist spasming back and forth for a few seconds before the twitches began to ease. She kept her eyes closed for the better part of twenty minutes, breathes shallow and fast at first, easing as she concentrated. He took her hand by the wrist, examine it back and forth as the Isamu-kun stared. Motioning aside, he watched as the girl grimaced, and as she adjusted her wrist several times.

"You studied underneath Tsunade, I recognize that style anywhere."he said, and if this future child of Konoha had apprenticed underneath his wayward student...

Then that meant that she would overcome her bitterness with life and come home. The thought brought a hopeful twinge into his chest even as he tried to find suspicion within him towards the girl. All he wanted in life was to retire, and see that his female student came home, reuniting his first, and only genin team.

"Yes."

He stared at the girl for a second, another piece of her life coming to him. Inoichi's report of her life had been vague, though the young man had assured him he had told as much details as he could, but knew that his knowledge towards what had happened to the young woman during the course of her life was largely a mystery. Factors such as their deaths, Inoichi's future daughter and the like were only a few selected memories that had been shown to prove her loyalty. When exactly she was in the course of time was still dubious, but with the inclusion of Inoichi's daughter being present, and Tsunade as her mentor, the margin of time was narrowing the more he discovered from the girl.

"You're still going to the hospital."he told her after a moment of dissecting this new tidbit of information.

"I am a an adult and a medic, I can reassure that I'm fine."

He sighed.

"Child, you are here in this moment, you appear as four year old girl. You have a seriously injured chakra system, and you could foolishly have destroyed your pathways if you had pumped even a fraction of a percent more chakra than you did. I quite reassure_ you_, you are going to the hospital, and Minato-kun will be informed."

She didn't say, or perhaps, couldn't say anything to that.

* * *

**AN: I do not own Naruto, that right goes to its Mangakai, publishing company, and animation studios.**

**Sakura btw, is getting a few massive slaps to the face that she can't not (sorry double negative ):S )interfere with the course of things, and her situation as not being so black and white. The people around her, the ones she keeps calling dead and ghosts, _are_ going to become real, living breathing things that she can't deny nor damn so easily. Because even if she tries to remove herself, the course of her affection will grow, and a single, massive event later will be the moment she stop caring altogether about the future she came from... But that's in a while, for now, she's still getting her footing. However, as I stated earlier, her treatment of Itachi are her first steps in the direction of altering the future drastically and purposely.**

**Holy massive update BATMAN! I put that on all of you guys: I have never ever updated so constantly, even in my other drabble series, you guys, readers, reviewers, curious onlookers, thank you for causing me to have a enormous creative streak. I can't stop writing for this! Thank you =).**


	33. Chapter 33

"Is this going to be a common occurrence?"Minato asked the girl as the Medic checked over her arm. She sighed, her cheeks flushing, and didn't responded.

Minato clicked his tongue, trying to get over the sense of disbelief at the fact that the girl had managed to only last most of the day before landing herself back in the hospital. Granted, the Medics said she reacted rather well to her over use of chakra, and the miniscule amount that had sent her arm convulsing(or so said the somewhat apologetic Hokage), had only been enough to send her system into shock, and not damage the nerves nor chakra pathways any further. It was a bitter pill to swallow to see the girl looking so defeated when he had come to see her, flipping through her medical file again, obviously dejected at herself.

Kakashi's overall glee, poorly hidden, did nothing to lift her spirits he thought, and he had to resist throwing the boy out. He genuinely loved him, but at the moment his treatment of scared child was leaving him with little patience... It was a good thing Rin and Obito were set on easing the girl's bruised self-esteem though...

"Nah, nah Sakura-chan, I thought you wouldn't get yourself into trouble so soon."came out a male voice, and Minato looked up in mild surprise to see Inoichi Yamanaka walk in, and toss a container of dango at the girl.

She caught it clumsily, smiling slightly at the Jonin. His team looked at the nineteen year old with some confusion, and Minato wondered what the man wanted here, or how he knew the girl... His guest was interrogation, but she seemed to relaxed for that...

"Did you come to visit me Inoichi-san?"she asked, and there was genuine warmth in her eyes as the man sat on the edge of her bed.

She opened her dango box, and he noticed that she scrubbed away tears at the sight of the box, before she began to eat.

"Something like that. More like scold you for your stupidity, aren't you a medic... In training? You know better than to do something like this."

The girl pursed her lips at him in something in resemblance to a pout, and then started blinking when Obito let out a howl of protest.

"Oi! Blondie! Sakura reacted on instinct, you can't stop that!"

The girl stared at Obito for a fraction of a second, raising her brows as if she was surprised at his defense of her. That made something twinge in Minato, seeing how little she trusted.

"Oh, don't worry kid. It was just a little scolding. Sakura can handle a lot more than that."he said easily, lifting his hands in surrender.

Minato didn't miss how Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Like the entirety of your clan hating me?"she asked, clipped and displeased.

The younger man let out a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, that was my father. Seems he didn't like the little trick you pulled. He told the entire clan to keep you on the fringes, and to avoid interaction at all costs."

"Doesn't seem to be stopping you, Inoichi-sama."came a voice, and another Yamanaka, the taijustu instructor at the Academy if he recalled, walked in.

"Neither you Imasu-Sensei."said Sakura, and the young Chunin sighed, before he shrugged. He sat next to his relative, and placed a hand on the girl's head.

"It was my fault your in here in the first place Sakura-chan, besides, that was the first spare in a long time that actually challenged me."

Minato frowned at the younger man, and glanced back at Sakura, who surprisingly was not protesting his assessment. The fact that the young girl in the bed had given the Chunin a run for his money made him question the fact that she was probably going to graduate at the tender age of four. Younger than Kakashi he noted, and the sudden tension in his youngest student seemed to indicate that he had noticed it as well.

"You didn't do anything, Sensei. I was stupid to use chakra."she said it quietly, and the frustration at her actions was clear in his voice.

Obito patted her hand, smiling at her.

"It's fine, you can't control yourself sometimes."pipped up Obito, smiling to the younger girl.

Sakura frowned, but didn't say another word to that.

"How did you remember my favorite was syrup covered Dango?"asked the girl after a moment,looking back at the Clan heir.

The man shrugged, winking, as Obito watched with narrowed eyes.

"You were having them in your memories often enough."

Minato stilled, and watched as the girl gave the man a genuine smile. No tension, complete trust despite the man had been going through her memories... Or maybe because of it?

"Only with Ino."she said it quietly, and the younger man's eyes softened.

"I see."

The Medics came in then, and after giving the girl a mild scolding, ill concealing the gleam in their eyes at her conrtol, he thought, they were let out of the hospital with a warning. They walked comfortably for a minute, before the two Yamanaka left, leaving the girl eating Dango quietly as he and his Team walked comfortably home. The development of the girl and the two Yamanaka, however, left him thinking quietly to try and figure out what she had done to gain their esteem.


	34. Chapter 34

"So Sakura... How was your first day at school?"asked Obito brightly, and Minato watched with mild amusement at how high the girl's brow went.

The were settling down for supper now, and the girl seemed to be enjoying the simply prepared meal immensely. Maybe she wasn't really that use to sweets, as soon as she had finished the syrup covered Dango she had looked down at it's container with a strange look on her face, and drank readily of a canteen she had hidden in a scroll where she seemed to carry all of her things for school. She smiled vaguely at the boy, something that seemed almost, but not quite forced.

"Boring."she said it honestly, before she ate with amazing dexterity with her left hand. Her dominate, right he noted, was bond tight in a sling to prevent any agitation in the tender area.

Ambidextrous, he thought, taking another skill that the girl had. She had been trained that way he noted, if the slight, but hardly noticeable clumsiness that came with the use of her left said anything. Obito laughed slightly, scratching the back of his neck.

"I bet, school was always boring, I could never sit still! You make any friends?"

"One."she said softly, but a frown came to her lips at the mention.

"Cool! Who is she?"asked the boy eagerly, nearly spilling his tea if it weren't for Rin catching it.

At the violet haired youths faintly annoyed look, the boy blushed, but kept his attention focused on the child in his care.

"Itachi Uchiha."

The boy blinked, before he frowned.

"That stiff kid?"he asked it in a tone that expressed disbelief, and Sakura merely shrugged.

"He's very nice."

Obito's face seemed to imply he doubted that very much, but he let the matter drop, and they returned to their meal. Rin spoke in cheerful tones of her own day at the hospital, and Sakura asked a question here and there of how things worked there. She seemed strangely a mixture of horrified and curious as Rin told her details. But, overall, the meal was pleasant, even with Kakashi near sulking as he ate his meal quietly. He had to try and fix that...


	35. Chapter 35

"Why do you dislike me?"

It took several minutes for Kakashi to register the question. Sensei, Obito and Rin were cleaning up the remains of dinner, and he had been ordered to sit outside on the porch, as had the girl with a few dismissive hands when he had moved to help as he always had. The not so subtle way of Sensei trying to get them to get along no doubt. Kakashi gritted his teeth, surprised, yet not at the blunt question.

"You don't act like a br-..child."he said, and he hated how he stumbled at the word.

He was trying to be more diplomatic, Sensei had given solid reasoning in being at ease with the girl, and while it might not look like it, Kakashi tried to follow the man that had taken him in after his father's death. He tried not to flinch at the thought, and tried to push down the jealously that came with the fact that the girl had essentially taken his place in Minato's house. He tried to force his logic into his mind even as the anger settled in him, he had chosen to leave and go to his own apartment. He was a chinin, he didn't need to be taken care of anymore. It still sent a bout of unease through him at the fact that Sensei had taken in someone so soon after he had left. As if he really that dispensable.

Sakura's attitude didn't help in the slightest, she acted like a soft, more pleasing version of him. She wasn't straight lanced, she was calm and collective. She smiled easily and readily, though she seemed reluctant to trust. Everyone seemed to take a liking to her, and the whole mysterious circumstances of coming to Konoha only furthered his unease, suspicion, and overall dislike of her.

"I suppose that's true. I've been taking care of myself, Naruto, and Sensei for too much time to feel like a child."she said after a moment, and Kakashi felt it again, the anger that came with the fact that she didn't act quite normal.

It was surreal and unsettling to see someone so much younger than him act like that.

"You called your old man, Sensei?"and he frowned as her lips twitched, and she started laughing.

It was high, clear, and startled and so full of amusement that he had no idea what to do about it. He hadn't heard anything like it come from the girl.

"Sometimes it was the other way around."she said, and he found that he didn't get the joke and he _really_ didn't get Sakura.

But he did understand one thing, the girl was strange. And he didn't like strange.


	36. Chapter 36

Itachi told everything that had occurred at school as he always did, stiffly with as much detail as possible. He did this every day after school, just before he entered the house, and he knew if he did not report quickly and without prompt he would be bared from entering until he did. His father listened stoically, the only show of emotion towards the events with Sakura not betrayed save for a slight tightening of his straight jaw, and the twitch of his fingertips, as if he wished to close his hands into fists. Itachi said nothing more, and waited for the judgment that was sure to come.

"She took on a full chunin and the only thing that prevented her from winning were her injuries."his father's voice was devoid of emotion, and Itachi held back from flinching from the fury that was working into his dark eyes, the barest hints of red beginning to bleed into the iris.

"Yes."he said it simply, seeing no point in lying, as his father would find out anyway, and the prospect the consequences to great.

"I see. What is your personal assessment of the girl?"

"She is kind."he said it without meaning too, and his father's brows went high, anger gone in the wake of surprise.

Before that statement could get him in trouble, he continued;

"Quiet, studious, and she seems sad or startled at moments. Other's she's distracted, as if she is thinking far beyond what is in front of her. The Yamanaka seem to have a grudge against her. Her movements are stiff, but not ill practiced. She has high dexterity for a child, and excellent chakra control if her spar with Sensei is any indication. She destroyed the spar area with a single punch."

His father looked at him for a long time, digesting his word quickly and no doubt systematically.

"You like the girl."his father stated it as fact.

Again, Itachi saw no need to lie to a man that would figure it out in other ways, so he nodded. His father gave a sigh, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Proceed with caution. She could be an asset or an enemy. Come, we shall increase your training so you can stand on the same ground as her."

With that, Itachi followed his father, trying not to show his relief at the fact that he would be able to proceed to try and make a friend in the girl.


End file.
